The Victoria's Secret Fantasy

There was recently a Victoria's Secret  fashion show, as there is every November. The night it was on, pretty much every guy I know was watching it...no surprise there, but there was also many girls watching. Unfortunately, I only caught the tail end, but still, it was spectacular. They put on a very good show, not only wearing normal lingerie. Miranda Kerr walked the runway in the new $2.5 million diamond encrusted Fantasy Treasure bra. Of course, all the angels had elaborate accesories, like huge faerie wings, a shell, and a crown. Although for people interested in fashion, the designs are the center of attention, most watch this runway show for the babes bodies. Men drool over these womens bodies, and these models are pretty much the image of the perfect woman(at least to most men).

"The show fulfills a fantasy, and not just the obvious one of gorgeous women in their underwear," said Glamour magazine contributing style editor Tracey Lomrantz (http://www.cnn.com/)

 Most women envy their bodies, and try to attain them. Not all these models are naturally so perfect. To have the body of a model like Adriana Lima is pretty much impossible for the average women, but many still try through dieting and vigorous exercise, which can be very unhealthy(she worked with a personal trainer everyday since August for this show!). For the 9 days leading up to the show, some of the models eat only protein shakes made with powdered eggs and don't eat or drink anything for the 12 hours leading up to the show, not even water.Talk about torture! But actually this last bit, about not drinking before the show, is thankfully untrue, corrected later by Miss Lima, who drinks coffee, water and eats cake before the show.
I found an article about Adriana Lima cautionning teens on dieting, which I found rather funny, but it made sense. Her dieting and exercise is somewhat neccessary for her job, and she's simply warning teenage girls to not follow the same regime because it can be dangerous when not done right.

  Anyway, no matter how great these models look on the runway, I do not approve of their method of dieting. It makes me sick that models have to lose extra weight when they are already the perfect weight or thin, just so people can drool over them.


"It's interesting how many women say they use the show as a motivator to hit the gym or to finally start their diets." (Lomrantz, cnn.com)

(Interesting isn't the word I'd use, but anyway...)

For myself, I look at these women and don't just see their beautiful bodies, but their killer confidence, which is what I admire the most. Sure, I'd like a smashin' bod too, but in reality, I'm far too lazy to hop on the treadmill for even five minutes, as are allot of people. Every woman is beautiful and unique, no matter what her shape or height!




http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/25/showbiz/tv/obsessions-victoria-secret-show/index.html

Killer Fashion

There are many of dangers in the fashion world; this week, I'll be talking about dangerous trends, like sky high heels and oversized accessories.

First off, a huge trend lately has been super high stiletto heels. While they are absolutely stunning and transform a womans leg into a sculpted masterpiece, they are rather harmful for the feet(pinched nerves and joint problems)."This year's heels are taller than ever and offer less support— and the higher the heel, the more damage that can occur," says New York City podiatrist Johanna Youner, D. P. M. So next time you reach for those sexy stilettos, think of the sexy bunions you may get from them! Also, many designers create shoes that are pretty much impossible to walk in, let alone strut down the runway with a crazy outfit and spotlights on you. It is very common for models to fall on the runway due to the extravagant shoe designs they're trying to show off, and many end up with a sprained ankle, fractured foot or ugly bruises. Of course some designs are absolutely stunning, but the designers should not expect tiny boned models to walk the runway in their towering shoes. Instead women should wear comfortable heels, with a maximum height of 3 inches, a good back and/or strong straps.


Other dangerous trends right now are montrous bags(which I'm guilty of following), which when overstuffed can harm the back and the shoulders, oversized earrings which can stretch the earlobes (that may or may not return to their original size) and skinny jeans/tights, which when worn in the wrong size can cut off circulation and possibly cause yeast infections.

Going back in time, there were many more dangerous fashions that could actually kill someone, like the corset(meant to give a feminine hourglass shape) that completely rearanged a woman's insides and the crinoline(a hoop skirt made from steel) that caused women to be easily swept up by the wind and in certain cases, thrown into the sea and drowned (if they were dumb enough to stand on a cliff or pier in one). This skirt would also get caught in the spokes of carriages, causing women to be possibly dragged to their death, and they even caused fires, being so large that they knocked over candles and the women wearing them blocked the doors while trying to escape, causing the rest of the bunch to go up in flames.

Lets hope designers will get the message that their designs are harming people, and also that people aren't stupid enough to wear allot of these dangerous designs!

Eating disorders: A quick look at the horrors of the fashion industry

For my first blog, I decided to talk a bit about the obvious and widely known issue in the fashion industry: eating disorders. Many if not all models working in the fashion industry are pressured  into sickness. Even the naturally tallest and thinnest models are convinced, by their employers but also by themselves, that they are overweight. Many size 0 women look in the mirror and see a size 14, because their minds have been twisted by the industry. Of course, not all models are sickly thin, and not all are starving themselves or purging.

I often watch fashion shows on Fashion Television, and while I do see many sickly thin models, I truly appreciate seeing normal sized women modeling in certain lines. It warms my heart to see that some designers want their clothes to be seen on healthy women, that they often refuse too skinny models. While it may hurt models that are naturally very thin because they may be accused of having anorexia, it is important to show the world, especially young women not involved in the fashion industry, the image of a healthy woman.

A model I admire very much is Coco Rocha, a 23 year old 5'10 healthy beauty from Toronto, Ontario. She is catwalk veteran, who has already modeled for top lines like Prada, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton and Dior, and has spoken out against eating disorders in the fashion industry many times. One of her most famous quotes that I strongly agree with is "How can any person justify an aesthetic that reduces a woman or child to an emaciated skeleton? Is it art? Surely fashion’s aesthetic should enhance and beautify the human form, not destroy it." Coco was often pressured to lose weight, industry people telling her that they wanted her to LOOK anorexic, without actually BEING anorexic (which makes absolutely no sense). It is sad to say that the fashion industry is ruining beautiful women who are not as strongly opinionated and strong willed as Coco Rocha, which truly makes me sad. I applaud Miss Rocha for what she said in an interview 2 years ago with The New York Times:

“You know what, I’ve stopped caring…If I want a hamburger, I’m going to have one. No 21-year-old should be worrying about whether she fits a sample size.”

If all models had the same mindset as Coco, there would certainly be far less issues in the world of fashion, less deaths and women all around the world would have a much more positive view of their bodies.